Photos in a travel brochure only reveal a snapshot of a country, resort or attraction.

To offer holidaymakers the chance to more widely explore such destinations and excursions, Thomas Cook has launched a range of virtual reality ‘try before you buy’ tours.

By donning a headset, customers can virtually fly over Manhattan, or visit a restaurant in Cyprus before paying out hundreds on their holiday.

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The technology (pictured) was trialled in Thomas Cook’s store in the Bluewater shopping centre, Kent. It is now being rolled out to three select travel agents in the UK, three in Germany and four in Belgium

The technology was trialled in Bluewater shopping centre, in Kent, in August and is now being rolled out to select travel agents across Europe.

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This includes three in the UK, including Bluewater and two other stores that are still to be determined and three in Germany, including Werrepark Bad Oeynhausen Shopping Centre, Goethe-Galerie Jena Shopping Centre, Roland-Centre Bremen Shopping Centre.

PAUL MCCARTNEY'S VIRTUAL REALITY GIG

Last week, VR firm Jaunt released its first cinematic virtual reality release of Paul McCartney’s gig in San Francisco filmed during the summer.

The Jaunt camera system records 3D stereoscopic video in all directions, which is coupled with 3D sound-field microphones.

The team then use so-called computational photography algorithms to process the recorded video, adjust the angles and colours, and make it appear more immersive.

The footage is available as a free app from Google Play and works with Google’s Cardboard, and the gig will be available for Samsung’s Gear VR and Oculus Rift ‘soon’.

If successful, the technology could be rolled out further, and the content is also set to be added to the company’s website.

At launch, there are 12 virtual experiences in three destinations.

The New York experiences include a helicopter tour of Manhattan, a drive around Times Square in a yellow cab, the view from the Top of The Rock observation deck at the Rockefeller Centre, and a boat tour around the Statue of Liberty.

In Rhodes, the tour takes holidaymakers to the Sentido resort to give them an overview of the pools, restaurants, bars, beach and other facilities.

There is also a range of room types and views featured on the tour, plus a selection of nearby attractions and points of interest.

At launch, there are a total of 12 virtual experiences in three destinations.The New York experiences include a helicopter tour of Manhattan (shown being filmed), a drive around Times Square in a yellow cab, the view from the Top of The Rock at the Rockefeller Centre, and a boat tour around the Statue of Liberty

Another virtual tour of Rhodes takes users to the Smartline hotel, while a Cyprus experience explores the SunConnect resort.

Each of the videos were created by London-based virtual reality experts at Visualise.

The firm was set up in 2006 and has also created virtual, immersive tours of buildings including the Royal Albert Hall, plus was the official Olympic and World Cup stadium videographers.

Henry Stuart, co-founder of Visualise said: ‘Virtual reality is changing the way brands showcase their products and services to customers, and it’s incredibly exciting to be at the forefront of that, delivering innovative campaigns for brands like Thomas Cook.

'With experiences like this on the high street for the first time and headsets ever-more affordable, virtual reality is more accessible to the public than ever before.’

Each of the videos (Manhattan Bridge being filmed is pictured) were created by London-based virtual reality experts at Visualise. If the Thomas Cook technology proves successful, the headsets could be rolled out further, and the content is also set to be added to the company’s website